Fostering climate adaptation through international cooperation

The IKI’s global programme Climate Resilient Economic Development (CRED) supports adaptation planning in the partner countries Georgia, Kazakhstan and Vietnam. 

In October 2022, partners from the three countries came to Germany to share learning experiences under the CRED programme and to learn from discussions with relevant German actors in the field of climate policy.

The importance of timely adaptation planning to ensure resilience of national economies to climate change was once again highlighted at COP27. CRED contributes to strengthening the capacities in partner countries for adaptation planning through the development of climate-sensitive macroeconomic models that assess the economy-wide impacts of climate hazards and investments in adaptation. These assessments improve the information basis for decision makers in designing policies that ensure long-term climate resilient development. Through extensive capacity building, institutions in partner countries are enabled to flexibly quantify economic implications of climate risks and adaptation measures and feed findings in political processes. 

Coming together to discuss climate resilient economic development 

To share learning experiences and discuss perspectives on the use of macroeconomic models in the formulation of national policies for climate resilient development, the CRED programme organised a study tour to Germany from 10 to 14 October 2022, bringing together policy makers and modelling experts from Georgia, Kazakhstan and Vietnam. Furthermore, the participants got insights into German adaptation strategies and climate impact research through presentations and discussions with policy experts and climate scientists. 

Enabling peer learning was the focus of the first day. Participants shared their experiences on using macroeconomic models to inform climate resilient economic development and discussed learnings about choosing different model types, model and capacity building, scenario analysis and policy dialogue. They jointly identified solutions to country-specific and cross-country challenges. With the support of experts from CRED’s partners from the Institute of Economic Structures Research (GWS), the Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), the participants developed ideas on how the CRED approach could be further developed in the future.

Learning from experiences of using such models for policymaking in Germany was at the heart of the second day. The partner representatives met with ministries and political institutions, such as 

• the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), 
• the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) or 
• the Parliamentary Committee on the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection

The delegations discussed the status quo of adaptation in Germany and future plans for supporting adaptation and biodiversity projects with members of parliament (Social Democratic Party of Germany, Alliance 90/The Greens, and Christian Democratic Union of Germany) and advisors of the ministries. Furthermore, the participants gained an insight into the Germany’s vulnerability to climate change and adaptation options as well as the climate proofing of regional development plans.

The third day was dedicated to climate impact research, energy transition and reflection. The delegation discussed with researchers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) macroeconomic modelling and socioeconomic impacts of extreme weather events. This was followed by a meeting with representatives of the Bundesverband Erneuerbare Energie e.V. (German Renewable Energy Federation), with a lively discussion on German energy transition. The day closed with a reflection on the relevance of the study trip learnings for the future work of the participants. 

Conclusion

In summary, the study tour contributed to the further development of macroeconomic models through professional exchange and identification of problems and opportunities. It also led to a deeper understanding of different ideas on adaptation strategies through discussion formats with policy makers, academia and associations. The embedding of evidence-based policy advice through macroeconomic modelling was also mutually recognised by all discussion partners as an important tool for informed policy decisions and should therefore be further strengthened in the future.